Atlas Strongest Tournament

by Bico

Sweet Sixteen: Rivalite, Brutalite, Fraternite

“Welcome back, everypony!” Pinkie shouted. “When we last left our heroes, Derpy beached our hippocampus contestant, Lulamoon scooted out, and Argent rocked Tom’s world!”

“Seriously,” Spike said. “What is she talking about?”

“Now we’ve reached the propreantepenultimate round of the preantepenultimate tier of the ultimate tournament on the continent!” Pinkie said.

“Pretty sure Twilight’s the only one who understood that,” Spike said.

“Maybe Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo interjected with a grin before joining Spike in a bout of laughter.

In the ring Shining Armor regarded his opponent respectfully. The Apple stallion was considerably larger than he was, and held himself with the unwavering stance of the archetypal earth pony. Mac nodded to him while fixing a tranquil gaze on the unicorn. “Big McIntosh,” Shining said. “I hope your sister’s been keeping Twily out of trouble.”

“Eeeeynope,” Big Mac replied with an easy grin.

Shining laughed and the two stallions slapped hooves. “Just as I’d expect, Mac. May the best stallion win.”

“Eeyup,” he said.

Pinkie Pie bounced in the air and, with a happy giggle, announced, "Fight!"

Shining Armor pawed at the ground and snorted as his opponent stood his ground. He charged McIntosh, crashing his neck into the other pony's with all his power behind it.

Big Mac shuddered with the impact and his body swayed, but his hooves stayed rooted to the ground. He grit his teeth and began to push back. The other contestant's hooves began to slide back, and with a mighty shove Shining was thrown back.

"Ooh, fillies and gentlecolts, it looks like the unicorn fell far from this Apple," Pinkie said.

Shining Armor righted himself and charged again. He rammed his shoulder into Big Mac's face, causing him to reel back in pain.

"I think Shining may have just given Big Mac a real shiner," Pinkie exclaimed.

“I really hope she stops that soon,” Prince Armor said irritably. He leaped back from a counter attack from his opponent, and then struck at McIntosh again. “Too slow, Mac!”

Big Mac smirked and reared up, slamming his hooves on the ground. A shockwave rocked Shining and he found himself unable to dodge McIntosh’s powerful neck strike. He was thrown across the ring, almost over the edge.

Shining was fast, though, and he was on his hooves in an instant. He saw the other competitor attempt to strike the ground again, but leaped into the air at the moment the shockwave passed him. He dodged the work horse’s next few strikes and laughed. “Like I said, Big Mac. You’re too slow!”

McIntosh halted his attack and snorted. “Nnnope!” With a surprisingly graceful toss of his head, his ever present collar flew from around his neck, arcing across the ring and landing in the soft earth before the stadium seats. That earth erupted like a geyser, showering the audience with soil, and the ground rumbled from the force of the impact.

“Well, looks like somepony else had the bright idea to weight train,” Spike sighed from the sidelines.

“Aw, how much faster could a pony like that be without a harness,” Scootaloo said dismissively.

Big Mac’s form blurred as he disappeared from view.

“That’s a lot faster,” Scootaloo conceded.

Shining reeled as Mcintosh’s hind hoof suddenly struck him in the ribs out of nowhere. He could swear he felt something break with just that single strike. Then, right before he ungracefully exited the ring like a rag doll, there the draft pony was again, his forehoof striking him in the jaw. Pretty sure I lost a tooth there, he thought absently as he was sent flying across the ring again.

“Omigah!” Pinkie exulted. “Big Mac is making mashed potatoes out of Prince Armor. Back and forth and back and forth… oh the equinity! But I’m sure the brother of the smartiest smart pants, Twilight Sparkle, will think of a way out of this predicament!” Pinkie sputtered as Shining's blood splattered across her face. “Or maybe not. Boy, is my face red,” she said as she removed her shades and attempted to rub the bodily fluid out of her coat.

As Shining Armor flew over the center of the ring, Big Mac screeched to a halt right under his soaring body and with a mighty kick sent him flying into the air. Shining’s wits slowly came back to him as he shot toward the stratosphere. He looked back to the ground and saw the stadium as a small dot on the landscape. A red streak appeared to be coming from it, moving toward him at a frightening pace. “When did Big Mac become a pegasus?” he wondered idly.

McIntosh overtook the other stallion as he reached the apex of his flight, and he smirked at Shining. He flipped around and kicked his competitor back toward the earth so fast that the McIntosh was mildly surprised he didn’t create some kind of Sonic Shineboom. He saw the dust cloud mushroom from the ring’s surface just as he reached terminal velocity, and moments later he touched down on the outer portion of the ring, himself, his giant hooves cratering the hard surface. He chuckled and put a piece of straw in his mouth. “Your armor ain’t so shiny now, I reckon,” he said.

The dust abruptly cleared away as a wave of magical energy emanated from the center of the stage and a rose colored field of energy expanded, revealing a bloodied and bruised, but very much conscious, Shining Armor standing defiantly. “What was that?”

The straw dropped out of McIntosh’s mouth.

“Don’t look so shocked!” Shining said as his shield began to expand. “After all, my special talent is defense magic.”

Big Mac narrowed his eyes determinedly and braced himself against the oncoming magic field. The wall of energy struck him, and he pushed back, his hooves locked in placed. His opponent began to sweat as he strained to push him back, magic pulsing in waves from his horn. The ring began to crack along the perimeter of the field and slowly separated from the rest of the ring as the unicorn pushed him away along with the crumbling stage. Still, Mac’s hooves remained firmly planted on the ground.

“Dam!” Twilight’s brother cursed. “I get it, now. Earth ponies have a magical connection with the earth, and in some cases a literal one. Most earth ponies can naturally cling to things derived from the earth like metal or plants with their hooves using their magical aura, but you’ve learned how to consciously harness and strengthen that connection. As long as your hooves remain in contact with the ground, you’re immovable.”

“Eeyup!” Big Mac grunted.

Shining’s horn lost its glow and his shield faded. “Well, I guess there’s no use in trying for a ring out, is there?”

“Nnope,” Big Mac said as his form blurred. An instant later he struck a hoof against a newly erected shield, and a tiny crack appeared in its surface. Mac’s image faded in and out as he pummeled the shield from all sides, causing the fissures to appear all over.

Gotta concentrate, Shining thought as each blow caused his head to pound with ever greater pain. He closed his eyes and perked up his ears, listening for the hooffalls of his opponent. If he could counter attack at just the right moment…

Big Mac withdrew a short distance before beginning his final charge. The shield was covered in cracks, almost completely obscuring Shining’s form.

“Ladies and gentlecolts,” Pinkie shouted. “Has Big Mac finally found a chink in the Armor?”

Big Mac charged, and he reared up to deliver his final blow. His front hoof came crashing down in a devastating punch, shattering the shield. He had put so much power into this haymaker that his hind feet lifted off the ground as his hoof continued traveling toward its true target.

Now, Shining realized, and he opened his eyes to find his opponent’s massive frog filling his vision. With only a fraction of a second to react, his horn flared and a powerful field of magic expanded from it at a rapid pace.

Big Mac’s hoof struck against the shield and found himself being pushed up by the incredibly strong aura. He careened back with the magical bubble until it stopped right past the limits of the ring, and the draft pony continued at the same velocity until he crashed into the stands.

“An incredible last minute turnaround, ladies and gentlecolts,” Pinkie Pie said as she hopped around the ring excitedly. “Shining Armor wins!”

As Prince Armor left the ring, Luna rose in her throne high above and her horn began to glow. The rubble took on its own glow and slowly the pieces moved back together and mended themselves into a whole heptagon. “It is good that I learned that spell,” she commented. “This seems to happen at least once every tournament.”

“Next up is the Master of the Plaster, the King of Swing, the Prancing Employer, the Quince of Punch, the One or the Other, the Mount of Monte Fisto… um…” Pinkie trailed off as she seemed to be at a loss for more noms des guerres. “Anyway, it’s Spike! And his challenger today is the Bitalian Stallion, the Iron Pegasus… Snowflake Benchpress!”

"Yeeeeaaaahhhh!" the muscular pegasus screamed.

"Whoa," Spike said hesitantly. "That's scary. Hey, buddy, how do you fly with all those muscles... and with those... uh..."

"Oh, don't be embarrassed, really," Snowflake said. "I get this all the time. In truth, the dynamics of flight for any pegasus defies known physics. Our flight is actually facilitated by what has been deemed a 'flight aura' which can nullify the effects of gravity to a certain extent as well as extend to other objects or ponies via tactile contact. It can be used for assistance in propulsion in certain exceptional subjects, too. This effect is inexorably tied to wing movement, however, as experiments have shown a loss of this ability in those pegasi with nonfunctional wings."

"Oh," Spike said, a bit discombobulated by the unexpected lecture. "Uh... what's with all the... smart-speak."

"Apologies," he said. "My full title is Dr. Snowflake Benchpress, Chair of the Athletics Dept. of Cloudsdale University."

"Yo, Professor B!" Rainbow Dash shouted from the contestant area.

"Yyyyyyeaaahhhh!" Snowflake shouted back enthusiastically. "Ahem. Well, I know my appearance is misleading and my enthusiasm occasionally off-putting, but I have tenure so to Tartarus with all that rubbish!"

"Fair enough," Spike said with a shrug. "Do what you do."

"Right!" he said with a crazy grin. "Let's commence." His wings began to buzz at a rapid pace and he lifted into the air.

Spike shouted as he was forced to dodge a swooping strike from Dr. Benchpress, which buckled the ground beneath where he had been standing a moment before. The dragon rolled along the ground and leaped to his feet.

Snowflake flexed his gigantic muscles, his veins popping out hideously. "Yyeeeah! Now you see my strength! Does it make you ill at ease? Do you now wish to forfeit?"

"Uh," Spike hesitated. "No, not really."

"Well how does this make you feel?" Snowflake shouted as he reared onto his hind legs and flexed again, his chest muscled bouncing merrily.

"Oooh!" Pinkie interjected as she bounced in time with Snowflake. "That looks like fun. Do you let ponies ride on those? How much do you charge for admission?"

Ignoring the hyperactive mare, Spike responded to the professor's question with a simple, "Kinda makes me feel sick, actually." He looked the stallion up and down critically. “Huh… how did you win the preliminaries, anyway?”

Dr. Benchpress snorted and Spike responded by dashing up close to him. He tried to punch at him, but with Spike so close he was unable to strike him. His muscles strained against each other as he attempted to bend his legs enough to land a hoof on the scaled fighter. “G-guh! Hey… back off, that’s not fair.”

“I see,” Spike said. “Your muscles are so big you can barely move. You have to rely on intimidating ponies into either forfeiting or keeping their distance enough that you can actually hit them.”

Snowflake growled. “Astute observation, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still beat you.”

Spike grinned mischievously. “Actually, it does.” He presented his tail and began to lightly brush it along the pegasus’ stomach. Snowflake’s face began to strain as his muscles rebelled. He redoubled his efforts to attack the dragon, but his muscles simply wouldn’t allow it, and even when he attempted to back up, Spike calmly walked forward to keep up with him.

“N-n-nooo-ho-ho-hoooo!” Professor Benchpress laughed as he collapsed to the floor and writhed in agony. “I give! Uncle! Forfeit!”

“Snowflake Benchpress forfeits!” Pinkie enthused. “Spike wins, and I am just tickled pink!”

“Great job, Spike,” Scootaloo congratulated him as he removed himself from the stage.

“Nah,” Spike said. “I only won because of a trick, anyway.”

“I thought it was really cool,” Scootaloo said. “And you’re a great opening act for the mane event! Look. Rainbow Dash is coming to the stage already.”

The irrepressible blue mare did a double loop through the air before landing deftly on the heptagonal ring. Her opponent, Applejack, was less flashy, merely cantering onto the stage with an easy look about her.

“Well, AJ,” Rainbow Dash said. “Looks like we finally get to settle who’s the most athletic pony in Ponyville. Neigh, all of the Atlantean continent!”

“Coulda swore we settled that about—what?—fourteen times, now?” Applejack responded.

“Right,” Rainbow said. “And we’re tied. So best eight out of fifteen.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sure.” Under her breath she muttered, “Some ponies never learn…”

Unlike her brother, Applejack wasn’t one to wait around for the first attack. She charged her rival with wild abandon, her powerful strikes displaying her athletic grace and strength. Rainbow lithely weaved around her strikes and countered with her own rapid fire strikes.

“Holey guacamole, fillies and gentlecolts,” Pinkie exclaimed. “Applejack started strong, but Rainbow floats like a griffon and stings like a manticore!”

Rainbow Dash was letting loose on her rival, using her light form to dance around the slower earth pony and strike faster than her opponent. She took a few glancing blows that nonetheless rocked her, but she was confident that her rain of hits would wear AJ down. After several hundred punches, however, she began to realize a strange fact.

Applejack was smiling. In fact, while Rainbow was beginning to feel her muscles aching with both the strain of her attacks and the bruises that were forming from the few dozen punches her friend had landed, Applejack looked like she was still fresh and pain free. Was she trying to psych her out?

Rainbow decided to press her attack harder. Her hooves hammered against the orange mare’s face with increasing intensity, until with one buck she snapped the farm pony’s head back. She withdrew to observe her hoofiwork.

Applejack smirked before slowly moving her head back down to regard her opponent. “Harder, Rainbow Dash.” She had known that Rainbow Dash was speed training, and that she would never be able to catch up there. However, in all their contests it had become obvious that the area in which Applejack naturally excelled was her strength and endurance. Expanding on the tips she had been given on the largely forgotten earth pony magic field from that handsome blond earth pony, Ace, she had become resilient enough that even a falling boulder couldn’t faze her, much less the strikes from Rainbow’s hooves… as Rainbow was now realizing.

“You’ve been training,” Rainbow concluded.

“Eeyup,” Applejack said with a grin. “Now, stay still so’s I can lick ya good!” A lasso seemed to pop out of her tail and she tossed it at the prismatic pony, who bolted out of the way. “Now, don’t be scared none, Dash, I just wanna tie you up and whoop you some.”

“Wow,” Pinkie Pie interjected. “The tension on stage is palpable. Applejack is getting really aggressive now, but Rainbow is playing hard-to-get.”

The lasso snagged multicolored tail and Rainbow was yanked down to the ground. “Get over here!” Applejack cried as she performed an intercepting uppercut, launching her back into the sky.

Rainbow’s tail came loose from the lasso and kept flying up. “No way am I going to let you stay on top, AJ,” she said as she approached a group of fluffy white clouds hanging above the stadium. She bounced off one and then another, turning herself to face the arena as she collided with the biggest one and was bounced off. She shot toward the arena, pumping her wings to increase her speed even further. Her flight aura became visible as she descended, and with a crack the sound barrier broke, sending a shockwave spreading out over the stage, the rainbow colors of her aura traveling with it as well as trailing behind her.

Applejack braced herself as the incoming pegasus projectile shot directly for her. Everything was light and sound as her blue rival’s hooves collided with her at supersonic speed. She gripped the crumbling arena with her aura, holding herself still as she took the resulting blast. When the multicolored smoke cleared she was still standing in the midst of a crater in the center of the heptagon, and she grinned at her opponent, who had jumped back to the edge of the ring. “You’re gonna have to thrust harder’n… nnnnnggh!” Applejack groaned as she collapsed to her knees. The pain of Rainbow’s strike had overcome her all of a sudden. When had she learned to throw a real punch?

“Applejack!” Scootaloo called out to her smugly. “Rainbow Dash just hit you one hundred and eight times in the space of one normal punch. There’s no way you can win against speed like that.”

“Hey, hey!” Rainbow said. “Don’t help her out.”

“Well,” Applejack panted. “I didn’t expect you to actually get me on my knees, Rainbow. I don’t think you’re gonna be able to keep up that pace, though.”

“I’ll make you eat those words,” Rainbow said smugly. “And if I win you’re gonna have to eat my pie.”

AJ looked ill for a moment before she quipped, “Yeah, well if I win you’re gonna plow my field. Allll day.”

“Looks like we have ourselves a wager, everypony,” Pinkie shouted. “And no matter who wins, the outcome is guaranteed to be dirty.”

“Let’s do it!” Rainbow shouted as she charged the Applejack. She began to box at blazing speeds, focusing hundreds of strikes on a few points on her body. Applejack was definitely feeling it, but she bided her own strikes, delivering a few powerful but accurate blows to Rainbow’s delicate body, rocking her back and interrupting her flow.

“Finish it, Rainbow!” Applejack roared as she reared back and wound up for a powerful haymaker. Rainbow leaped into the air and came down upon her opponent. Both their magical auras surrounded their hooves as they came together, and the concentrated earth pony and pegasus magic crashed together, exploding in the crater that had already been formed.

After a moment of silence, a rainbow mane appeared on the edge of the dust, slowly emerging. A gasp ran through the crowd. Then a pair of glowering green eyes appeared underneath. Applejack threw the unconscious pegasus to the ground and huffed. “You know there was no way I was gonna eat your pie, Rainbow. It smells horrible.”

“What a climax!” Pinkie Pie screamed. “It looks like in one final thrust, these two friends came together and decided the outcome. Applejack wins!”

The entire crowd cheered with the exception of a single disappointed pegasus filly and one lunar princess, who sighed and complained about having to fix the ring once more.

“Stay right there on the edge of your seats,” Pinkie said. “The last two matches of this tier will begin…”

To be continued…